COVID Surge: Difficult To Give Dignified Farewell To Loved Ones

In Chhattisgarh’s capital, Raipur, COVID bodies were seen transported in garbage vehicles.

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Video Producer: Naman Shah

Video Editor: Purendu Pritam

The second wave of coronavirus in India has wrecked massive devastation on human lives. According to official data, the country witnesses more than 3,000 COVID deaths daily. But the rush in crematoriums suggest that the toll could be multifold of the presented numbers.

Amid the surge in COVID fatalities, dignity and respect for the deceased are being compromised. A dignified farewell has become a luxury that the bodies of COVID victims cannot be offered anymore.

Corpses can often be seen falling out of ambulances as they are carelessly piled up and even carried in garbage vehicles.

In the Sahudangi cremation ground in West Bengal’s Siliguri, COVID bodies were seen piled up one over the another. Several bodies were found lying unattended.

This disturbing sight is mirrored across India, as people are dying in unbelievably large numbers. Many COVID deaths are a result of inefficient healthcare services as most of the hospitals are running short of beds, ventilators, and medicines.

Countless deaths are occurring due to an acute shortage of medical oxygen. Scores of people have lost their breath because their families couldn’t manage to provide them with oxygen.

The sudden spike in deaths has also burdened crematoriums and burial grounds. Many of which are seeing several-fold rise in daily bodies. Amid such a situation, the bodies of the deceased are also unable to receive customary last rites. They are rather being given an undignified farewell.

In Chhattisgarh’s capital, Raipur, COVID bodies were seen transported in garbage vehicles. In Madhya Pradesh’s Vidisha, a body was seen tumbling out of the ambulance's trunk while being transported for last rites. Such careless handling of bodies tell how much strain has been put on the entire system with the increased number of deaths.

Another heart-shattering visual from UP’s Jaunpur shows a 70-year-old man helplessly carrying her wife’s body on a cycle. No villager came forward to help the old man due to the fear of COVID.